Air cleaning systems are well known in the prior art. These systems may be used in conjunction with a means for dislodging dirt or foreign matter from a carpet, as with the typical home vacuum cleaner. While the system disclosed herein is exceptionally well suited for use as a vacuum cleaner, its design features provide the flexibility needed for effective use for the cleaning of room air within a household or in a commercial environment.
This system may utilize a liquid bath as an aid in separating dirt or other foreign materials from the air. The method is well known in the art and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,221,572, 2,228,750 and 2,945,553 to Brock as well as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,839,582 to Nordhem, 2,306,212 to Gerstmann, 2,321,653 to Carlson and 3,343,199 to Nolte. While each of these prior art devices utilize a similar general principle of air purification by the impingement of the air upon a liquid, only the Brock patents provide the feature of a mechanical separator means for removal of residual impurities and of vapor which may be generated by turbulence within the liquid. While this separator feature provides a greatly improved cleaning system, these prior art devices have several disadvantages which have been overcome by the present invention. Examination of the Brock devices reveals that in each of them, the separator means is attached directly to the system's motor. Thus the separator is rotated at the speed of the motor which is not the optimum speed at which a separator functions most effectively. This is because the motor speed is dictated by the requirements of the main drive fan rather than the requirements for optimum separator speeds. Typically a great deal of power is wasted by rotating the separator of these prior art devices at a much higher speed than is needed.
The air flow in these prior art devices follows a tortuous and severely impeded path which directs the flow around several support structures, through a series of compartments and restrictive passages and requires several changes in direction. Such a flow pattern is obviously inefficient in that a considerable portion of the power available from the system air driver is lost as the air is forced through each of these impediments.
Of particular note is the fact that the air flow pattern of these prior art devices carries air which has passed through a water chamber, directly into contact with the electric motor which powers the device. It can readily be seen that the operation of an electric motor in such a high humidity environment is a serious safety hazard as well as being detrimental to the life of the motor.
In the prior art devices the arrangement of the electric motor immediately above the water compartment creates another serious hazard since, in the event the device is overturned, water is permitted to come into direct contact with the electric motor and its wiring.
It will be noted that cleaning of either the water container or the separator of these prior art devices requires removal of the main body of the device. The main body of these devices includes a motor, its wiring and switching means, a fan and all housings except for the water container. Thus to clean or change water in the prior art devices requires handling the heaviest and most cumbersome parts of these devices.
A further disadvantage of these prior art devices is the need to remove the cleaning water before storing. This is necessary because of the high humidity environment created around the motor caused by the immediate proximity of the water. It will be readily understood that such an environment would greatly shorten the life of the motor as well as all other metal components.
Review of the prior art also reveals that access to the motor and fan mounts is very limited. Thus repair of these devices is quite difficult and time consuming.
In view of the foregoing discussion it should be apparent that known prior art devices as mentioned above do not provide a cleaning system which will adequately meet the requirements of either household or commercial use.
The ideal air cleaning system is one which provides safety from electrical shock, efficient use of available power, efficient removal of foreign particles from the air, longevity, and convenience in use, in cleaning, repairing, and storage.
Therefore, it is an object of my invention to provide an air cleaning system which utilizes the feature of a liquid cleaning agent but yet locates the liquid so as to minimize the danger of electrical shock.
It is another object of my invention to provide an air cleaning system which, when utilizing the feature of a liquid cleaning agent, provides an effective and easily optimized means for separating both moisture and foreign particles from the air being cleaned.
It is a further object of my invention to provide an air cleaning system which provides the least possible restriction to the flow of air through the system.
Still another object of my invention is to provide an air cleaning system which utilizes a liquid cleaning agent and yet provides a simple and convenient arrangement for the cleaning of the system and changing the liquid, and wherein the normally cleaned parts of the system may be totally submerged for cleaning purposes.
Yet another object of my invention is to provide an air cleaning system which utilizes a liquid cleaning agent and provides an arrangement which minimizes the humidity around critical parts of the system by locating the liquid as far removed from said critical parts as possible.
A further object of my invention is to provide an air cleaning system which may be easily repaired.
Another object of my invention is to provide an air cleaning system which includes an air cooling system which is independent of the air flow within the cleaning passages of the device.